Boris loses opinion poll lead

For the first time London Mayor Boris Johnson has lost the lead in the opinion polls prior to the May mayoral election.

Boris Johnson, in a recent YouGov Poll, is on 49% against his rival and former mayor, Ken Livingstone who is on 51%.

In a poll in June 2011 Johnson was on 54% and Livingstone on 46%.

The poll suggests the election will be close, although currently Livingstone is free to campaign whilst Johnson still has to undertake his mayoral duties. Another consideration is that Livingstone traditionally has found it harder to get his core central London vote out whilst the outer fringes of London, which favour Johnson, achieve a higher turnout.

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